Coyote Impacts on Deer. Writing in Outdoor News, Marc
Jenkins reported that biologists at the University of Georgia are taking a
close look at the effects of coyotes on whitetail populations. They aren't specifically studying fawn predation, but rather
how coyote pressure impacts overall deer behavior. They'll be studying
whitetails in two controlled environments – one with coyotes and one without
coyotes. Questions they hope to answer include, "Do predator-stressed deer eat
as much and as well as non-stressed deer?" and "Does the presence of high
concentrations of coyotes affect rut behavior among bucks?" The study also will
address coyote's effect on deer weight, birth rates, sex ratios of fawns and
what happens when deer are driven from their preferred ranges and forced to
live on marginal habitat. Read more of the story.

Hummer Contest. Chad Kauffman, of Mifflintown, has opened
his annual fall-into-early-winter hummingbird contest for residents of Juniata,
Mifflin, Perry and Snyder counties. Anyone having a hummingbird confirmed in
those counties through Jan. 31, 2014, will be entered into a $100 drawing. A
hummingbird species other than ruby-throated is worth another $25. Kauffman
noted, "Hummingbirds are being found with increasing frequency in the fall and
winter seasons in Pennsylvania. About 99 percent of the hummingbirds that are
found east of the Mississippi are ruby-throated hummingbirds, but sometimes
during fall and winter other species of hummingbirds pass through Pennsylvania
as they travel from breeding grounds in Alaska to wintering spots along the Gulf Coast. Ornithologists are
very interested in learning more about these wayward little birds. Your
participation can help contribute to the growing body of information about
migrating hummingbirds. If you are able to get a confirmed hummingbird to visit
your feeders, you can win a prize. In addition, researchers with federal
banding permits would like to band the late season hummingbirds, if the
homeowners are willing." Any hummingbird species that can be confirmed will be
entered into a $100 drawing. Any species other than ruby-throated hummingbird
will automatically win $25. The contest is sponsored by Kauffman Insurance
Agency in Mifflintown and Lost Creek Shoe Shop/Optics in Oakland Mills. Contest
is limited to anyone in the Juniata, Mifflin, Perry and Snyder counties, but anyone
in the state outside of that area is welcome to contact us for further
information. They can be eligible for other prizes and contests. Contact
Kauffman on Facebook, by email or by phone at 717-436-8257.

Pennsylvanian Champions. Double trap world champions Ian
Rupert, of Muncy, Pa., and Glenn Eller, of Houston, Tex., scored wire-to-wire
wins at a blustery 2013 USA Shooting Fall Selection Match on Thursday in Tucson,
Ariz. Returning from Lima, Peru, as world champions, the duo maintained their
top-level pace. In the span of three weeks, Eller, the four-time Olympic
veteran and two-time world champion, has pulled himself back into the ranks of
where he was five years ago when he became Olympic champion at the 2008 Olympic
Games in Beijing, China. True to form over the past decade, the toughest
competition Eller and his teammates Jeff Holguin, of Yorba Linda, Calif., and
Josh Richmond, of Hillsgrove, Pa., routinely face are the same competitors they
see and compete against daily. The three have had a decade-long stranglehold on
both the world and U.S. double trap competition. Combined they have earned 14 World
Championship medals, 26 World Cup medals and appeared in six Olympic Games. The
three finished on the podium once again with Holguin advancing to the final
after defeating Richmond in a shoot-out after tying at 27 during the 30-target
semifinal. After a 28 semifinal, Eller scored a 26 and a one-target win over his 2008
Olympic teammate Holguin for the gold medal.
Richmond secured bronze after a four-target win in his bronze-medal
match with Derek Haldeman, of Sunbury, Ohio. Other finalists included Rupert
and Christian Wilkoski, of Centerburg, Ohio.

Pennsylvania Water Study. The National Science Foundation
has awarded a $4.9 million grant to a team of Penn State researchers led by
Distinguished Professor of Geosciences Susan Brantley for the Susquehanna Shale
Hills Critical Zone Observatory. The project is focused on how water moves
through rocks, from the trees at the top down to the depths of groundwater. The
five-year grant will support field research in the Shale Hills of central
Pennsylvania, including teaching students and providing better understanding
about how water sculpts the landscape and nurtures ecosystems. Brantley,
director of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute in Penn State's
College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, noted that the research will allow for
the study of potential water quality issues in parts of the state where
drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale region is under way. That data
collection will take place not only at the Shale Hills in Huntingdon County but
at multiple sites in Pennsylvania. Started in 2007, the Shale Hills project is
one of several that are part of the NSF initiative aimed at understanding the
Earth's critical zone, the outer layer where rock, water, air, soil and living
organisms come together. Learn more about the study.

Outdoor Newsletter. Outdoor writer Marcus Schneck also
offers a free, weekly, email newsletter covering even more outdoor, nature and
travel topics, and providing links to many little known websites as well as
contests. To receive the newsletter, send your email address, name, hometown
and phone number to Schneck at mschneck@pennlive.com.